Barghuthi courts Hamas in unity call

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Marwan al-Barghuthi, the jailed Palestinian leader, has extended a hand to Hamas and called for all parties to join in a broad national coalition after the Palestinian election this week.

Al-Barghuthi, who was speaking to Aljazeera from an Israeli prison, heads the candidate list of the mainstream Fatah faction.

Fatah, the party of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, faces a strong challenge from its Islamist rival, Hamas, which is running in a parliamentary election for the first time on Wednesday.

Al-Barghuthi, 46, urged Palestinians not to focus on whether Fatah defeats Hamas.

al Jazeera

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1. More on the Palestinian elections in this blog...

Scroll way down past the cute kid pics and there's some great stuff. This blog is worth reading for the insights on the upcoming elections, at least for those who think Palestinians are worth taking notice of. This woman is clearly blaming Israel for everything, and totally ignoring all those honour killings going on all the time around them, so let's just ignore her ;)

Raising Yousuf: a diary of a mother under occupation

This blog is about raising my son Yousuf in the occupied Gaza Strip while working as a journalist, and everything that entails from potty training to border crossings. Together, we endure a lot, and the personal becomes political. This is our story.

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2. Carter: Elections can change Hamas

Former American President Jimmy Carter says Palestinian elections can help transform Hamas to non-violent group, adds third-party mediation in region needed

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3205055,00.html

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"Former American President Jimmy Carter, who is currently staying in the region as head of the team supervising over the Palestinian Authority elections, said Monday he hopes that the Palestinian vote will help moderate Hamas' positions.

The 81-year old Carter, who served as president of the United States when Israel signed its peace agreement with Egypt, was the guest of honor of Monday's seat at the Herzliya Conference on the Balance of Israel's National Security."

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"I hope for the Palestinian elections will be peaceful, Carter said, as well as "a demonstration of the commitment of most Palestinians to democracy."

"That would be the result of Hamas' candidates being successful in gaining seats within the Palestinian Authority. My hope is that this will moderate their position and lead to their transformation to a non-violent organization," Carter said.

Carter also said that following elections he would like to see the Palestinian and Israeli security forces join forces in a bid to stop terrorist activity still rampant within the PA.

"That's my hope and my dream," Carter said."